Noble Lady

"Miss cousin, what are you doing?"

Mother Huang gave her a reproachful look and quickly stepped forward to hand Liu a cup of hot water.

Ji Minrou was also confused. She hadn't said anything yet, so why did the old woman's face turn red from coughing?

Xue Chenyu slowly stood up and asked Huang Mama, "Where's the old lady's medicine? Didn't Doctor Xu say that one pill a day would stabilize her condition?"

Liu felt uncomfortable and looked at her speechlessly. Isn't that medicine free?

If she didn't want to save some money for the wedding, she wouldn't have asked Mother Huang to prescribe some medicine to deal with the problem first.

Xue Chenyu didn't care what her look was and urged Huang's mother to get the medicine.

Mother Huang saw that Liu was coughing badly and it was too late to boil medicine, so she gave her a pill to take.

"Aunt, are you okay?" Ji Minrou dared to step forward only after the chaos had subsided.

Liu Shi was not very happy to talk to her at this moment, but she still said patiently, "I'm much better. But you, why would you think of asking for a dowry out of the blue?"

Ji Minrou was thinking about helping He Minzhi and He Ruyi to arrange their marriage, which would bring her many benefits.

Then he said happily: "Aunt, my cousin's wedding date is so close, we have to help prepare the dowry. It would be bad to let the Cui family think that our He family can't come up with a decent dowry."

This sentence really hit Liu's lungs, but she couldn't get angry.

At this moment, she felt like someone was strangling her neck, with words stuck in her throat, unable to spit out or swallow.

At the beginning, part of her dowry was sold because the He family fell into poverty. Later, the second wife of the He family achieved fame and Dalang also became famous in his studies, and their lives became better. She then redeemed most of it.

She divided the dowry into two parts, one for He Minzhi and one for He Ruyi.

But because He Minzhi was marrying the eldest daughter of Marquis Xue and the empress of Marquis Wu'an, he almost emptied his family's savings and had to scrape together the betrothal gift.

Naturally, most of the dowry prepared by the family for He Ruyi had been embezzled.

What is left for He Ruyi now? Is there any dowry to speak of?

Naturally, Liu could not come up with the so-called dowry.

"You don't have to worry about this matter. I will discuss it with Dalang in the evening." Liu wished she could get rid of her immediately.

Ji Minrou still felt that it was because of Xue Chenyu's presence that Liu was impatient with her. She glanced at Xue Chenyu, bowed reluctantly and left.

Without Ji Minrou, the only people left in the room were Xue Chenyu, Yuzhu, Qiuhua, Liu herself, and Mother Huang.

"Yu'er, you heard what Rou'er and I just said. Do you have anything to say?"

Xue Chenyu asked innocently, "My daughter-in-law doesn't understand what the old lady means? What should I say about the second lady's dowry?"

Liu was choked by her. She was angry but couldn't vent her anger. She was really feeling suffocated.

"Yu'er, you have always been a smart person. You should know what Ruyi's marriage means to our He family. If Ruyi marries well, it will be beneficial to her elder brother's future and it will also be good for you." The voice became two degrees colder.

As she spoke, she gave Xue Chenyu a meaningful smile.

This Xue was the daughter of the Marquis of Wu'an. Her dowry at that time was so generous that even if it was just a little that slipped through her fingers before, it would have allowed the He family to live a comfortable life.

If I could give Ruyi a portion of her dowry, that would be a decent move.

Xue Chenyu thought to himself, how come I don’t know what benefits it will bring to me if He Ruyi marries well?

She still had a puzzled look on her face. "Old Madam, if you have anything to say, just say it directly. My daughter-in-law was just raised by a merchant's daughter. She has a shallow mind and can't think that far. Please explain clearly, Old Madam."

He pretended to be ignorant even though he knew the truth, which made Liu very angry.

"Yu'er, our family situation isn't very good right now. Ruyi's wedding is approaching, and we can't let others laugh at our He family for not being able to come up with a decent dowry, right?"

Xue Chenyu smiled, Yuzhu handed her the teacup, and she took a sip slowly.

Although he didn't say anything, his satisfied look seemed to be asking Liu: What does this have to do with me?

"Yu'er, you've always had plenty of money, so I'll need you to help with the dowry." Fearing Xue Chenyu might object, she added hastily, "If Ruyi's marriage goes well, people outside will also praise you for your good housekeeping."

It's ridiculous.

After all, he was still eyeing her dowry.

He claims to be from a noble family and keeps an eye on his daughter-in-law's dowry, not afraid of being criticized if the news gets out.

Xue Chenyu turned her head to look at Yuzhu, who then knelt down to greet her and left.

At this moment, Liu was staring at Xue Chenyu intently, hoping that she could say something useful, but she didn't care about such trivial matters as whether Yuzhu stayed or left.

In the past, Xue Chenyu would consider the reputation of her husband's family and care about He Minzhi's mother's joys and sorrows because she hoped for the best for him.

But not now.

Xue Chenyu sat down slowly and told Huang Mama as if nothing had happened, "The old lady was almost sick just now. Let's help her lie down and rest."

It's not wrong for Ji Minrou to keep it a secret from housekeeper Liu, and it's also right for her to be obsessed with arranging He Ruyi's marriage so that Liu and everyone else will take notice of her.

But she always obeyed Liu's words and wanted to be a yes-man. Without Liu's instruction, how could she bring up the dowry in front of Xue Chenyu.

This was clearly premeditated, to see if she would be foolish enough to be soft-hearted.

"Mrs. Xue, you have so much dowry, but you can't bear to give us a few pieces to deal with the emergency? You really don't consider us your own family!"

Xue Chenyu was not fooled. He Ruyi, who had been hiding, could no longer sit still. She came out from behind the bed angrily and started scolding Xue Chenyu.

Xue Chenyu acted startled and looked He Ruyi over carefully, "Second Miss, what are you doing? Are you eyeing my dowry?"

"What do you mean by your dowry? Now that you've married into the He family, it belongs to our He family!" He Ruyi said angrily.

It turns out that this is what they really think.

Xue Chenyu had a mocking smile on her face, "Second Miss is really arrogant."

"Ruyi, don't talk nonsense." Liu tried to warn her.

He Ruyi said dissatisfiedly, "Mother, what did I say wrong? She just can't bear to let me go. I can't marry into the Cui Mansion with those tattered clothes, right?"

When Liu thought of that scene, she felt really uncomfortable.

The He family cannot lose face.

She held Mother Huang's hand and slowly got out of bed.

"Yu'er, you already understand the situation clearly. I've said all the good things to you. We are a family. Are you really unwilling to give a little to help Ruyi?"

Xue Chenyu remained calm, "Madam, are you trying to take my daughter-in-law's dowry? Even if you report this to the authorities, you'll still be in the wrong. Ask around in Kyoto, who would be so kind as to take my daughter-in-law's dowry?"